Field
This disclosure is generally related to distribution of digital content. More specifically, this disclosure is related to a system for implementing a Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) protocol over a content centric network.
Related Art
The proliferation of the Internet and e-commerce continues to create a vast amount of digital content. Content centric network (CCN) architectures have been designed to facilitate accessing and processing such digital content. A CCN includes entities, or nodes, such as network clients, forwarders (e.g., routers), and content producers, which communicate with each other by sending interest packets for various content items and receiving content object packets in return. CCN interests and content objects are identified by their unique names, which are typically hierarchically structured variable length identifiers (HSVLI). An HSVLI can include contiguous name components ordered from a most general level to a most specific level.
In computer networking, Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities. iSCSI enables two hosts to interface using the SCSI protocol with IP as the transport medium. An end user or application (an “initiator”) can send a request, and the operating system can generate the appropriate SCSI command and data request, which go through encapsulation and, if necessary, encryption. A packet header is added before the resulting IP packets are transmitted over an Ethernet connection. The packet is received by another end host or server (a “target”). The target decrypts the packet (if encrypted), and decapsulates or disassembles the packet, extracting the SCSI command and the data request. The target sends the SCSI command to the SCSI controller and/or to the SCSI storage device. Because iSCSI is bi-directional, the protocol can also be used to return data in response to the original request.
While a CCN brings many desired features to a network, some issues remain unsolved for implementing the SCSI protocol over a content centric network.